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A Troubled Court
Jumping ahead twenty years or so now, we look to the country of Adara. For decades now this country has been in contention with is neighboring rival of Rygild - a 'sister' country immediately to the west that shares its border. These two countries were once united as one nation after the Adaran invasion in the north during the Years of Strife when they split apart due to an unexpected death in the ruling family. The issue of succession set two noble factions bitterly at odds and a civil war broke out. Now, years later, they are these two separate entites and the notion of uniting as either Rygild or Adara once more sits heavily in the hearts of both nations - a situation which often causes strife and skirmishes with the threat of war. On the border there sits two rival familys who have held their respective fiefdoms since the two factions signed their tentative peace so long ago. These two counties are the fiefdoms of Rheene on the Adaran side and Rathane on the Rygildan side. The lord of Rheene, Xavier Rheene, was captured in during a border battle to hold the bridge crossing against an incursion from Rathane led by Lord Tybilt Ratha, who pulled his troops back after capturing the lord of Rheene. This caused Xavier's younger brother, Torin, who was the head of the Church of Belaius in Rheene, to have to take up his brother's mantle of lordship. Having led most of his life as a member of the clergy, Torin is unfamilar with the ways of war and court intrigues and must rely heavily on his brother's two main advisers; Sir Unther whom served as his bodyguard and Marshal Andrew who is leader of the soldiers and castellan of Rheene. With Xavier gone and no one to help him that he was well familiar with, Torin asked his old friend Halfaldi to act as his chosen sword. Uncertain of what the immediate future holds and with no news or request of ransom from Lord Ratha for his brother, Torin sits his seat uneasy of what to do though he knows Lord Ratha won't waste this chance and will attack soon. As Rheene controls the border in southwestern Adara, he is well aware what the cost of failure in the face of possible invasion will mean for his king, country and people. Inside his court, Marshal Andrew speaks constantly of troop movements with several of the lords and Torin finds himself largely out of his depth as he must rely on the experience of his brother's retainers to keep the border secure. To make matters worse, it is open knowledge amongst the higher members of society that his chosen sword and friend was once convicted of heresy but cleared to return to the ranks of the army by Torin himself. Marshal Andrew constantly points this out as well as the fact that he served as part of Xavier's vangaurd in the battle he was captured in. To further complicate the issue, Sir Unther consistently says little on the matter other than how he failed his duty and should have been on hand when Xavier was taken. Even with this uncertainty, Lord Torin continues with the tradition of the Spring Festival in Rheene as he brother had planned before his capture and it is to this scene that the story truly begins.